1 Feb '10

Mo, Channel 4

“Julie Walters as a dying Mo Mowlam could have brought peace to Ireland in an instant.”Tim Dowling, The Guardian

“Julie Walters – no novice when it comes to playing the terminally ill – was predictably excellent in the role. What you couldn’t have foreseen as easily was the clinical honesty with which the film ended.”Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“Mo did a lot of swearing and talking about sex but fortunately it fitted in well with the point being made throughout the programme, and there was a lot else to admire besides.”Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“The chemistry generated between the bald man with the moustache and the fat woman with not so much hair was remarkable.”Andrew Billen, The Times

The Virtual Revolution, BBC2 (Sat)

“Dr Aleks Krotowski offered paradox and dialectic before reaching her bland conclusion that the web was constantly re-inventing itself.”Andrew Billen, The Times

“Both premature and overdue. Premature because when you’re in the middle of a fest fire you can have no sensible idea of how it will eventually burn out. Overdue, because the flames have been raging for 15 years now and it’s excellent that the BBC is at last sticking a dampened finger in the air to see which direction the wind is blowing.”Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“What happens, what always happens, with a great new invention? This gave us a clue in its look at the early years of the internet.”Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“There have been some valiant attempts at encapsulating the significance of the digital revolution for television, but tracing the trajectory of the internet on TV is like hiring an oil painter to chart the progress of a wildfire. The Virtual Revolution made a better fist of it than most.”Tim Dowling, The Guardian

Seven Ages of Britain, BBC1

“Millions will be grateful for this spectacular and easily digested remedial history lesson.”Andrew Billen, The Times